Michael is a senior staff scientist and group leader of the Connectomics section in the Blue Brain Project at the EPFL, Switzerland. For his doctoral research under the supervision of Prof. Henry Markram he developed algorithms to derive microcircuit connectivity and study the emergence of microcircuit activity.

He is one of the main contributors of digital microcircuit modeling and simulation efforts in the Blue Brain Project. His research is focused on synaptic connectivity at all scales, how it is shaped by plasticity mechanisms and how this in turn determines brain function. He leads a group of eight PhD and postdoctoral researchers employing advanced simulation tools on petascale super-computing systems and developing novel analyses, based on classical information theory and algebraic topology. They also lead an international collaborative effort in building a detailed model of a human cortical microcircuit.

In his free time he enjoys hikes and runs in the mountains of the swiss alps and digital photography.